There was nothing for the Impuritas to exploit. The Nexus’ defenses were overwhelming, to the point where it would not be a surprise if they carried back trauma from the ordeal. The less incentivized they were the better.
But everyone knew they’d be back with an even larger force.
The scenery that occurred throughout the halls of the Nexus was akin to how neutrophils – a cell that knew only how to kill – saturated the battlefield within the human body. But unlike the human body, the Moons of the Nexus could not damage their home.
Skills that exceeded the physical limitations of magic only served to scrape the pallid floors and walls clean of scarlet remains. The smallest of interactions, like that of a mere [Crystalized Pyrolytisism] – one of the weakest Skills known to be in the possession of a Moon – was still considered Tier Nine magic.
This was magic equivalent to magic that the Colors could freely conjure.
One hall was turned into a flaming crystal cavern, and another just around the corner became a frozen sea. But these were not meant to kill the Impuritas. Rather, they were created to serve as battlefields for the Candidate Moons and Aspiring Moons.
Every Moon had at least one Skill at the minimum that could greatly influence their surroundings, although it was rare for it to be larger than 20 meters. Strangely enough, the strongest Moons like the Triplets, Garmr, Anpu and Luna had limited area of effect Skills.
45-50 meters was the average range of a Moon’s area of effect Skill. Of course, it was significantly weaker compared to the likes of the Triplets. It seemed that the larger it was, the less effective it became, so they were often neglected.
These Skills were collectively called the Tides of a Moon.
“Master. Do we just leave them here?” An Aspiring Seci Response Moon asked.
They watched their master climb a staircase of flaming crystals. Embedded into them were dozens of Impuritas, their expressions petrified into the brilliant rock.
“They’ll be collected shortly. Weave wanted to interrogate a few of them. Something about how they were able to enter the Nexus. I don’t see any Etched Coins. Nothing for a [Dimensional Storge]. It could be work of the old Hyperlinks.” A Moon deduced, kneeling before a Masque. “That’s my conjecture anyway. This should prevent them from taking their own lives until we process them. That reminds me. We lack an ‘intelligence’ body’.”
“Don’t the people in the Floor of Civilization count?”
“I meant information extractors. Torturers. People to leave marks on them. We just know how to kill. Harming on the other hand is best left to the Black Wings.”
The Moon tore off the grafted mask, revealing warts, teeth and misplaced eyes. If a blind child was given the opportunity to draw a face, then it would look like this person. The Moon didn’t speak for a short while. They pondered as the Masque struggled to utter a croak for their lungs were entombed into the crystals.
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After some time, a golden-suited figure approached.
*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*
Went the sound of his diamond-encrusted cane as he walked with a swagger that even a Moon would be too embarrassing to replicate. Although, the Minu Auditors would have taken notes and admired him.
He carried a heavy degree of majesty as he graced these halls with his presence. One by one, the heads of countless forms lowered their heads, for this was Magus – the Archetype of Hope.
“Marvelous! Truly, marvelous~! Oh how spectacular! Of all the hallways I’ve roamed, this is by far the most beautiful! A crystal throne of entombed corpses, surrounded by an audience of scarlet peasants. They’re half formed, like the masses praying for a miracle from the crimson altar.”
The over animated Magus threw his arms open as if to bask in the presence of the scenery. His words of praise for what could easily be called a despicable thing brought much confusion amongst the others, namely to the Moon herself.
This Moon was Ruby. She was a member of the Seci Response Force, and objectively one of the weakest Moons. [Crystalized Pyrolytisism] was her Skill, after all.
She was a tall woman with messy, spiked red hair. The pristine uniforms that were to be worn by her members within the Nexus had its collars flared, her buttons undone, and her tie loosened which gave her a ‘punk’ look.
“Really? You don’t see it as a crystal cavern?” Ruby scoffed.
“Be it as what it may be, but I do find it resembling an altar. Yes. One could infer these crystals to be candlewicks. Moons do appear to be becoming freer as the cursed Serum Goldilocks escapes their veins. It may be pompous of me to declare this but, it does certainly appear like an expression.”
Magus stroked his chin, admiring every inch of the crimson altar.
“Forgive me for asking this but… what do you mean by that?”
“Passion. Emotions. An expression. Like a work of art. You don’t notice it, do you? How the elevated emotions of the Moons coincide with how they’ve come to express themselves stronger? Moons are individuals.”
A tarot card hovered around Magus. It eventually fell into Ruby’s hand. The card in question was ‘The World’; a card that represented the unity of the inner and outer self.
“But it was not until now that Moons have truly expressed it. It may come across to you as coy and – frankly – delirious of me, but I can assure you this.” Magus leaned on his crane and stared at Ruby intently, as if to guarantee her that his words were not spun half-heartedly. “Moons can paint the world in their own colors. I know a Moon who became a literal interpretation of it. It’s not as abhorrent as you may think, which leads me to ask – why do Moons not engage with these Skills?”
Ruby shoved a budding crystal into the Masque’s jaw before answering.
“There is a psychological hurdle that prevents us from using these kinds of Skills. Serum G kept us unaware of its significance throughout our life as Moons. But as it decayed, we became unable to embrace our past. It felt foreign. It disgusted us. Confronting and embracing your origins is not as simple as you think. Most Moons don’t wish to remember. These Skills are a reminder of ‘that’ day.”
Each Moon who was chosen by the Nexus had a special birth. The Triplets remembered releasing a deadly electric shock, hence their ability to generate an electric field. Ruby on the other hand, was born entombed in crystalized flames.
“I was once inside of this… like an unborn chick sitting in a shell. I yearned to remain unhatched, so that my world inside could never be broken. Our Skills are determined by how we were born as Moons.”
It was thought that these eggs from which the Moons hatched from were their intended Corrupted form. They were the fathoms that managed to crystallize before the Nexus could save them, and because it was inherently a part of them, it became the foundation of their powers.
It was, in a way, like a miniature Realization.